A space for poetry on Thursday evenings at 7.30pm at A Touch of Madness, 12 Nuttall Road, Observatory, Cape Town.
Hear poetry read, recited and performed by the famous and the infamous, the known and the unknown, the electric and the eclectic. Come laugh, come cry, come be yourself…

Tuesday, 6 December 2016

Please note this is the last gig in Obz this year. We resume in January.

Biography

Finuala is a poet and novelist with four novels and four poetry collections to her credit. Her poetry collections have won the Ingrid Jonker Prize; the Sanlam prize and the Olive Schreiner Prize. She has been invited to read her poetry at the Aldeburgh Poetry festival in the UK, in Paris, and at many South African literary festivals. Several of her private poetry students have gone on to publish their own volumes and to win prizes.

Finuala’s novel Homemaking for the Down-at-Heart won the 2012 MNet prize for fiction. Her fourth novel, The Fetch, won the 2016 Herman Charles Bosman prize.

Finuala divides her time between writing and her role as senior lecturer in the Centre for Extra-Mural Studies at UCT, where one of her main tasks is organising its annual Summer School.

Wednesday, 30 November 2016

Kelwyn is De Beers Professor in English Literature at
the University of Cape Town, and has published six collections of poetry, as
well as being widely anthologised. He has won the Thomas Pringle, Olive
Schreiner and Sydney Clouts Prizes for poetry, and has been runner-up for the
Noma Award.

Monday, 21 November 2016

Kyle Allan was to read to us this week, but is unable to return from KZN as scheduled. Instead, our guest this week is Tania Haberland.

Tania is the transcontinental spawn of a Hamburg sailor and an Indian Ocean mermaid. Born in Africa. Raised in Arabia. Miseducated in America.Matured in Europe. Currently sirening in Mauritius.As a poet-artist, she has used words, voice and body to co-create multi media pieces with various practitioners from photographers to drummers, dancers, a glass sculptor and a martial artist. Some of her favourite gigs have included chasing and being chased by cows in Devon, the histrionic character Mademoiselle Violette PompAssage, performing as a sadistic interrogator for the opening of Republic of An Us at the South African National Gallery and singing under a freezing cold shower for 2 weeks every morning in a campsite in Sardinia trying to capture the heart of a new love...

Monday, 7 November 2016

We've always had an Open Mike to encourage participation, though listeners are welcome. It's a place to observe the first tentative moments in a poet's public life. Some dive straight in, others - like me - get one toe wet first and, if they survive that, they are set for life, the life of the poet.

The Open Mike is invariably after the break at the end of the guest poet's performance. Sometimes the guest stays on to enjoy and encourage. Often there's quite a number who'd like to read their own stuff or favourite poems of renown or obscurity. If the list is long we ask poets to restrict themselves to two or at most three short poems. This so everybody gets a chance to read or recite. If in doubt, ask the host if you want to read more than three poems. Be gracious if you are refused extra, and be gracious if you are not.

Off the Wall has been called a safe place. It is. It is not a slam. It's available to all. The great and the unknown read here. It's about poetry before ego.

I've spent a few hours weeding the blog's garden. The plan is to introduce new blooms yet keeping the verges tidy. And adding new colour.
Let me know, if you think I need to change or fix, or improve things.

Then I'm hoping to add news. And maybe a view of gigs done and dusted. And tasters of ones coming up.